SIGNS AND WONDERS
EXODUS 4: 1-5
Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you’?” Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. The LORD said, “Throw it on the ground.” Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This,” said the LORD, “is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
Source
That which we usually call a ‘miracle' may sometimes be referred to In scripture as 'wonders' 'signs' or sometimes as 'powers'. In the old Testament many of these were performed through Moses, both at his meetings with Pharaoh and later during the wilderness wanderings. Those which were seen by Pharaoh, helped Moses to prove that he was God's messenger, whilst the miracles which occurred during the wilderness wanderings gave credence to Moses' leadership during times when the Israelite's faith was waning and they were doubting what Moses was saying.
Much later, the miracles which Jesus performed also gave credence to the fact that He came from God, and resulted in people believing in Him. For example, in John Chapter 2, we read about a Jesus turning water into wine and the effect that this has Is evident In vs. 11; “and his disciples believed In him" Also In the same chapter and in verse 23 Jesus again was performing miracles, this time at the Passover festival and the verse says‘ ‘many people saw the signs He Was performing and believed In His name”.
Think also about some other of Christ's miracles... .The feeding of the five thousand... His walking on the water... the miraculous catch of fish... healing the lame and the blind...calming the storm... raising the dead. These were all clearly seen by His disciples and some were seen by multitudes. Each one would add confirmation to what He was saying and teaching. Each one would help to produce faith in the hearts of those who witnessed them, and they would believe In him and his words. Thus, we begin to see the purpose of miracles.